Utility

Fire District press releasae

By Michael Downing, on May 7th, 2016

May 5, 2016

Release from the Office of the Fire Chief:

The Raytown Fire Protection District will hold a public informational hearing regarding our concerns with the 350
Live Tax Increment Financing project on June 6th at 7:00 pm. The purpose of this meeting will be to explain the
District’s position on the issue and provide our citizens with facts to substantiate this position.

On April 28th, the Fire District requested that the City of Raytown participate in this hearing (attached document
titled 350 Highway TIF Issues – Raytown Fire Protection District). On April 29th, this invitation was rejected by the
City of Raytown’s Attorney Joe Willerth, who stated “I do not think it is in the public interest for an entire Fire
District Board and the entire Raytown Board of Aldermen to sit down and review extensive detailed financial
records in an open public meeting or attempt to negotiate the resolution of any outstanding pending issues
initially in an open public meeting.”.

Since September of 2015, the Raytown Fire Protection District has made numerous attempts with city officials to
address our concerns with this project. With few exceptions, these attempts have been met with resistance,
incomplete or missing documentation and an overall unwillingness to address our central issues. At the core of
this debate is the belief that the City misled the Fire District in 2007 and has not upheld their side of the 2007
agreement since.

In 2007, the Fire District entered into an agreement with the City to participate along with the other taxing
entities on the 350 Live TIF Project. The Fire District’s participation was based on the City agreeing to comply
with Missouri Statutes and the governing documents of the TIF project. These requirements include:

• The submission of accurate annual financial reports to the State of Missouri
• The production of annual reports describing the progress of the TIF district for public distribution
• Conducting regular public hearings and the passage of resolutions to continue the TIF project
• The captured sales taxes from all jurisdictions were to be used exclusively to fund the public
improvements and other reimbursable project costs that are within public easements and rights-ofway
and will ultimately be owned and maintained by the city or another public entity
• Providing the Fire District with detailed and accurate information to substantiate billing requests

The Fire District has investigated this matter and contends that the City of Raytown has failed to meet the
preceding requirements.

The concerns expressed by Joe Willerth are not without merit. We agree, and are willing to limit participation to
selected representatives from both the City and the Fire District. Given its significant financial implications for
our community, we believe the public deserves to be informed and included in the conversation regarding this
issue. Our invitation to the city remains open and we hope they accept our amended offer to participate in the
June 6th, public hearing.